Do Justice AND Love Mercy?

In the book of James we are told do "do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with [our] God." I want this to be a key thought as we wander through the criminal justice system and try to make sense of an emotional and controversial claim: not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). The legal definition of this claim is: "plea in court of a person charged with a crime who admits the criminal act, but whose attorney claims he/she was so mentally disturbed at the time of the crime that he/she lacked the capacity to have intended to commit a crime" (from legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com). In these cases the question is not whether the defendant committed the crime--he/she is assumed guilty in these cases--but whether he or she has the mental capacity to assume responsibility for it. A forensic psychologist provides an expert opinion on the matter and a finding of insanity (by insanity we mean a debilitating mental disorder) will lead to a "not guilty" verdict. The defendant will either go free or--by discretion of the judge--be confined to a mental hospital until his or her mental state improves sufficiently.

"But wait!" You say, before flinging a slew of counterarguments to and problems with this plea. You're not alone. It is obviously difficult to deal with something that could potentially allow a murderer to walk free. Luckily for me, though, this makes it a fascinating and emotional ethical issue. I hope to offer perspectives from my views as a psychology major as a Christian. I love neuroscience and understanding what certain disorders actually do to the brain, so hopefully I'll be able to explain that as I go through the case studies in my book: The Insanity Plea, by Dr. William Winslade and Judith Ross.

As a Christian, I would like really quick to go back to the verse I introduced. I believe this plea is a case where justice and mercy are hopelessly at odds. One one hand we have people who have committed heinous acts and on the other we have people who are seriously sick and may never get better. How do we bring them to justice while remaining merciful and sensitive to their issues? I'm excited to explore this through case studies, psychological resources, and the Bible.

Happy reading!

Kelsey